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The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: the Lebanese Case

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The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: the Lebanese Case Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 23 Issue 2 The Journal of Conventional Weapons Article 6 Destruction Issue 23.2 July 2019 The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: The Lebanese Case Henrique Garbino Swiss Foundation for Mine Action Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal Part of the Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Garbino, Henrique (2019) "The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: The Lebanese Case," Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction: Vol. 23 : Iss. 2 , Article 6. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol23/iss2/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Garbino: The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: The Lebanese Case The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: THE LEBANESE CASE by Henrique Garbino [ Swiss Foundation for Mine Action ] he year 2017 was the third in a row of an exception- damage caused by warfare and its effects on land manage- ally high number of mine victims. According to the ment and migration.3,4 Drawing on this specific literature and T Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, in 2017 alone, other papers on landmines, cluster munitions, ERW, and im- 7,239 people became casualties of landmines or explosive rem- provised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as mine action re- nants of war (ERW), of which at least 2,793 were killed.1,2 Apart ports, it can be assessed that landmines impact food security from their direct physical effects, landmines and ERW also re- via six different and somewhat reinforcing mechanisms: ac- strict access to basic resources such as food and water, limit the cess denial (to arable land, water sources, and infrastructure), use of key infrastructure, and both force and restrict migra- loss of livestock, land degradation, reduced workforce, finan- tion.2 This article focuses on the impact of landmines and ERW cial constraints, and aid dependency. on food security, with an emphasis in food production. Food security is impacted by landmines via the lack of ac- Even though the relationship between landmines and food cess to arable land. Minefields are basically laid either to pro- production may seem obvious, theoretically, there are many vide protection to military bases and strategic resources or different possible mechanisms linking them, depending on as obstacles to the enemy’s freedom of movement.5 For the the affected country or region. Thus, the aim of this article is latter, it is likely that minefields will cover a large extent of twofold. First, it provides an overview of the possible theoreti- otherwise unprotected areas, such as open fields and plains. cal mechanisms connecting landmines and ERW to decreased Alternatively, militaries and nonstate armed groups fre- food security. Second, the theory is applied and assessed in the quently lay nuisance minefields, aimed at delaying and dis- case of Lebanon. organizing the enemy.5,6 Therefore, large areas of arable and The case study is presented based on specific literature on pasture lands are contaminated by landmines, for example, the Lebanese case, and on reports from the Lebanon Mine in Lebanon, Angola, Mozambique, Cambodia, Sinai, Kuwait, Action Centre (LMAC), the Landmine and Cluster Munition and Iraq.7 Access denial is further extended due to the sus- Monitor, the United Nations, and other international orga- pected presence of landmines or ERW. nizations. Whereas landmines and ERW still present a grave Landmines are also laid near water sources to reinforce threat to civilians and pose a significant impediment for the natural obstacles, such as beaches, rivers, lakes, and irri- development of affected communities, this article finds that gation ditches.8 Likewise, dams and hydroelectric power landmines and ERW alone insufficiently explain food insecu- plants, often perceived as strategic targets, may be protected rity in Lebanon. by minefields.5 The consequent lack of access to water sourc- es further compromises food security, especially livestock, Nexus Between Landmines and animal production, and herder communities. In addition, Food Security minefields aim to restrict access to infrastructure. Key roads, Researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners have been in- highways, railways, ports, and airports, as well as stations, creasingly aware of the often-unremembered impacts of armed bridges, and crossings are likely to be mined during con- conflict. Previous research has focused on the environmental flicts. In this sense, landmines also limit the maintenance Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2019 1 ISSUE 23.2 @ JULY 2019 21 Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 23, Iss. 2 [2019], Art. 6 access denial lack of access to arable land lack of access to water sources lack of access to infrastructure over-cultivation land degradation loss of biodiversity micro-relief disruption chemical contamination landmines and explosive financial constraints decreased food production and food insecurity remnants of war reduced workforce loss of livestock aid dependency Figure 1. Summary of causal mechanisms (adapted from Berhe and GICHD).7,9 All graphics courtesy of the author. and construction of new infrastructure,7,9 which indirectly use for agricultural purposes, by clearing the field and effec- impacts the food production chain. tivelly ploughing it. Livestock is directly affected by mines, especially large Likewise, micro-relief disruption is caused by the acci- mammals such as cattle, horses, camels, and even sheep.10–12 dental detonation of landmines and ERW, the use of fire as Moreover, when humanitarian demining programs are ab- a rudimentary demining technique,7 and standard demining sent, communities rely on rudimentary techniques to assess procedures. During standard manual mine clearance, demin- whether an area is safe or not. In many cases, this means let- ers are required to remove the first layers of soil not only for ting cattle graze in suspected hazardous areas.7,13 every landmine or ERW they find but for each metal fragment Landmines may cause land degradation in roughly four detected, including shrapnel and bullet casings. Moreover, if ways: through loss of biodiversity, micro-relief disruption the condition of the mines or ERW do not allow for their re- (disruption of the first layer of soil), chemical contamination, moval and further destruction in a specific area, those are ex- and over-cultivation.7,9 First, fauna and flora are affected by ploded in situ and increase soil damage.18 the physical and chemical effects of the detonation of land- Albeit minimally, land degradation may be caused by chem- mines and ERW. This is particularly relevant for conflicts ical contamination. Regardless of whether their explosive con- fought in forests14 or on routes of migratory animals. In ad- tents have detonated or not, landmines and ERW contaminate dition, when arable land is not accessible, communities turn the soil and water sources with toxic substances,19 including to forests as their last resort for fuel (i.e., wood), food, and heavy metals19 and depleted uranium,7 which come from either shelter. This effect is aggravated by the concentration of refu- the ammunition casings or their explosive contents.11 gees and internally displaced persons, who are considerably It is worth noting that there is little evidence of actual chem- limited by minefields and concentrate around safe areas. It ical contamination from conventional mines. There are a few must be emphasized, though, that in some mined and con- landmines which might use liquid explosives (e.g. PFM-1) that taminated areas biodiversity is actually very high due to the have toxic effects. However, given their small size, the resul- lack of human interference (e.g. the Korean peninsula’s de- tant contamination is most likely negligible. The majority of militarized zone).15 mines are constructed from TNT- and RDX-based explosives, Demining techniques may also contribute to loss of bio- which are largely organic compounds and result in little or no diversity and deforestation. While removing small bushes toxic effects. and plants is a standard process in both mechanical16 and Notably, the arable lands not contaminated by landmines manual mine clearance,17 some communities and demining usually suffer from over-cultivation. First, a smaller portion organizations set minefields on fire in order to clear the veg- of land is pressed to produce more to compensate for the con- etation and facilitate future work.7 taminated areas.7 Second, these areas are often occupied by Conversely, some authors argue that vegetation loss, micro- forcibly displaced persons, who perceive the settlement as relief disruption, or even burning in mine clearance opera- temporary and do not invest in sustainable land manage- tions may have a positive effect in biodiversity by creating ment.20 In the long term, these practices may lead to soil ex- different mixes of habitats across the landscape.18 Moreover, haustion and decreased food production. as it relates to food production, both manual and mechani- Landmines also contribute to a reduced rural workforce cal mine clearance techniques arguably facilitate future land by killing, maiming, or injuring thousands of civilians every https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol23/iss2/6 2 22 THE JOURNAL OF CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS DESTRUCTION Garbino: The Impact of Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War on Food Security: The Lebanese Case 100% 1.56 11.76 24.04 6.51 1.22 75% 0.97 5.64 0.5 50% 4.23 27.44 56.09 15.19 2.38 25% 0.94 3.46 0.05 0% Agricultural land Grazing land Forest Housing Community Industrial area Development Other, (retail, services, unproductive trade, tourism) land Total cleared Remaining Figure 2.
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